May 11th - 12th: Norwich Festival

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May 11th: Festival Launch
We heard drumming again in the early afternoon and thought we knew just where to go, and what to expect. How mistaken we were! We followed the sound of the drums all the way to the library just in time to witness a full rehearsal of the festival launch. Wow! Wow!! The drummers become part of a mobile hanging from a giant crane - they float over and around the library, with a trapeze at the very top. It was stunning. The festival launch should be very exciting.

We had tickets for ‘Passionate Machine’ by Rosy Carrick, which was a wonderful one-woman show about building a time machine; “Everyone writes instructions to their future selves. But what happens if the future starts writing back?” It was a terrific concept with some amazing lines. Now I have to add “Volodya: Selected Works of Vladimir Mayakovsky” to my reading list!

Robert decided that he wanted to be a part of the festival parade from the Cathedral grounds to the library. I’m lazy - I wanted a good vantage point from the library. It was amazing. The crowd was huge - it seemed that all of Norwich was there to watch. The performance was exhilarating - there’s something about drums, and of course a trapeze artist performing high above the building tops. Well, it was quite spectacular.

May 12th: Hackspace
Robert had a doctors appointment in the morning, so I thought I’d explore the Hackspace open day. It’s not as subversive as it sounds! It’s really just a group people who “enjoy making and recreating things, inventing, investigating, collaborating and generally tinkering.” Writing code and making small things go. In other words, my tribe… one of my tribes? They were offering an Arduino workshop, which is something I am interested in. Although I think I’m leaning more towards Raspberry pi. Robert decided to walk down to jin me but, naturally, we took different paths. So I arrived home as he arrived at Hackspace. Communication. Ain’t it great! He did, however, explore the facility and got the guided tour as part of their open day.

Chips and Cornish pasties for dinner. I’m returning to the USA the size of an elephant…

In the evening we lined up successfully for tickets to see Kumkum Malhotra performed in the Castle Meadow. The play is based on Preti Taneja’s award-winning novella set in New Delhi. It is about the plight of women, and the repercussions of one misunderstanding. It was interesting that the play processed through the castle grounds, with the audience following.

My big surprise of the day was an email from Dave. No, you don’t understand this … Dave does not email. He’s a wizz at fixing appliances but, otherwise, a bit of luddite! I’m really good with modern technology - but it’s currently failing me and my computer is still not working! I’m thankful I can use my phone as a computer.